Hands of the Axis
by JapanCat
Summary: The second world war is underway. Here are the stories of four countries and how their stories intersect.  revived story
1. Chapter 1

Hands of the Axis

Notes: Hey, I wrote this in my sophomore year of high school and this was back when I was still doing Ride like the Wind. So at the time I was really into the whole AU History thing. I have not finished this and I don't intend on doing so unless someone absolutely begs me to do so. I mean, I could find a way to make this end. But otherwise… I just posted this just because it was meant to be read by someone instead of sitting in a box.

I also happened to discover it when I was looking for stuff to submit to Deviant ART.

This is a World War II story. I always thought that was the most interesting war. World War I was also pretty cool… You know what I mean by that. The Cold War was too much "Mine is bigger" for me. Okay, I'll just shut up and move on, okay? Thanks to anyone who decided to venture into this insanity. (rereading what I have so far reminded me why I stopped writing it, I did all I could to improve my holes)

x-x-x

July 1940; London, England.

He hair was a disturbing shade of blue. That was all Kurama really remembered about his employer after their first meeting. He didn't know how she dyed it to get it to that color. In fact, it looked so natural that it was impossible to figure out what she did. Actually, the real question should be why she chose such a hideous shade of blue. At least she had a good smile, even when people gave her crazy looks. People sometimes asked her what she thought of Hitler's BS down in Germany and she still acted like it as all fine and dandy down there. (Well, it was Kurama mostly. Not that he should give a damn what Germany was doing. But he couldn't help but wonder what the hell the League of Nations was thinking by letting him do what he was doing.) She strongly believed that everything would work out in the end. She believed everything works out in the end. But hell, that shouldn't matter at the moment either.

"Why hello there!" the woman with the awful blue hair said as soon as Kurama walked through the door. It was a little too enthusiastic. She didn't even give him a chance to look at his surroundings.

"Um, hello. I'm here for a job. An employee must have mentioned it. I am Shuichi Minamino," Kurama explained.

"No… I was recommended a Kurama." She put her hands on her hips and she stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. The way she scrunched up her face indicated she was really racking her brains for this one. That was a little disturbing in itself. "Let me think… My memory often… Kurama… Shuichi…"

"Well, my nickname was Kurama. People often forget that it is, you see. People use that name so much it might as well be."

"Oh… So you are!" That showed a little too much trust, considering that she didn't even think to ask for any proof that he was who he said he was. "How wonderful. Yes, that job is still available. Let me show you around the building. My name is Botan, by the way."

"Oh, hello, Botan." Apparently she didn't believe in being more professional.

"By the way, I have to ask about your name because I have a Japanese friend from California. Have you been to California? It's so lovely there. I absolutely wish I could just move over there. Is your name Japanese?"

Scatterbrained too. "I'm not Japanese, really. Someone in my family happened to move over here from Japan in I think it was 1864. My parents gave me a Japanese name on a whim, apparently. I am still English."

"It doesn't matter. I still love Japanese and English equally. Love knows no borders I always say. I love everyone."

Apparently so. Unless she was just trying to sound like a real humanitarian. He only answered with a simple and noncommittal, "Mm-hm."

She decided that talk time was over and she showed him around the small hotel. She then opened a closet, which housed a mop, a bucket, a broom, a dustpan and several other cleaning supplies.

"You'll be cleaning all the rooms. Pick up the messes and mop the floor. Then you'll make the beds. It sounds like a lot, but with the number of people that actually stay here, it's not really. Is this alright with you?"

Wait, he had a choice? That's a good question. "Yes."

"So I will be seeing you tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Thank you so much. I was waiting for someone like you to come. Thank you again." She half shoved him out the front door, thus ending his big morning. He was starting sooner than he though but he needed the money to attend the university. Besides, no eighteen year old should go without a job. Not now that war had begun.

Just as he was walking away from the hotel, he came across a boy who looked like he couldn't be any older than thirteen. The boy held his hands up, obviously begging. He really didn't like meeting beggars. He always felt bad when he had to turn them down so he could save money for his mother's medication. Just when he was about to pass the boy, he tripped. Kurama jumped back to his feet, knowing that the boy had tripped him. He reached into his pocket to find that his wallet was gone.

Kurama turned around to run after the boy and ran into a man who looked like a palere version of the boy, his father obviously. "I'm terribly sorry, sir…"

The man cocked a brow without opening his shut eyes. "Is there something wrong?"

"A boy just stole my wallet. If you happened to see where he went…" Kurama paused, feeling he just said the stupidest thing. The man was _blind._ He tried his hardest to continue. "Well, my mother would die without her medications and if I don't get it back…"

The man turned around and shouted, "Shura!" Instantly the boy returned looking on the verge of tears, that look on the face of someone caught with their hands in the cookie jar. After a good swatting on the side of the head, the boy handed the wallet back. "There you are. It will never happen again." His calm tone darkened, "Will it Shura?"

The boy mumbled a sheepish "No" as he slumped his shoulders.

"His good-for-nothing mother taught him this. I'm getting him to break the habit." He tugged the boy away and they walked down the street.

Kurama felt conflicted.

x-x-x

Same Month, same year; Dresden, Germany.

She really couldn't remember the guy's damn name. There were too many that walked in and out of her door, most of them just to get whatever she was selling, and few of them also happened to be assholes with a lump in his pants. Guess which one this was.

"So I'll be coming back next week…" the man said, face a little too close to Mukuro's and his hand resting a little too high on her leg.

She tried really hard to hold back the impulse to tell him to get his nasty-ass hands off her. In fact it took all the restraint she had just to give him a good thrashing just for thinking of doing anything to her. Instead she gave him a half smile. She had to. "Yes, as always. And the same time as usual?"

"Yes. Would you mind if I stayed a little longer…" Oh, god, his hand moved even higher. Didn't his wife satisfy him enough? (Shit, people are fine with sharing these days too. Fucking Hitler.)

"Well, I'm usually _busy_ on the weekends. So if you were to stay here, I might have trouble working with the others, you understand, don't you?" Actually she wasn't busy. This was the only prick who showed up on the weekends.

"I could come on a less busy day…"

"If it works into your schedule…"

"I can find a way. I'll figure it out. I'll call when I figure it out." He stood up, made to kiss her on the cheek until he realized the time. A close call. "I'm late. I'll call you later! Remember that I will!"

He ran out of the house. Mukuro rolled her eyes at the closed door. After exactly five minutes, she got up and locked the door, then put the chain on it just for good measure. _The idiot forgot what I sold him. Not my problem as long as it stays forgotten. Next thing I'll know they'll start having me deal drugs and that's exactly what the fuhrer needs. A bunch of addicts._

She shook her head and walked to the window. She saw a couple of people walking hand in hand. The man looked up, realized with clear horror that they must have turned into the wrong street, and he lead the girl away, trying his best to make it look like they were calmly walking around. _Those two are always getting lost. They must be runaways… Jesus. If they keep this up, they'll get taken away by the… Or are they looking for someone to take them in?_

She became vaguely aware of the attic.

x-x-x

Same month, same year; San Francisco, United States.

Yusuke didn't know exactly how his family ended up in the United States. The only family he knew was his mother, his extremely young mother. He didn't even know his father. Hell, he didn't even know if his father was in Japan or if his mother happened to meet this guy in the US. Didn't matter. What did bother him at the moment was Keiko Yukimura. She was a girl that happened to live next door to him as long as he remembered and they were stuck in school with each other from almost the first day of he set foot in a classroom. And she nagged him for every little thing.

At the moment it was, "Yusuke-san, have you done your homework for tomorrow yet?"

"Yeah, sure," he wasn't going to deal with her. He's been dealing with her BS almost since he was out of the womb.

"Is that a yes or a no?" She was seeing right through him.

"Keiko, I can decide what I can and can't do. You're not my mom."

"You're wasting the school's time by not doing your work. You're just going to make yourself look like a fool. How would your mother feel about you just failing school?"

"Keiko, no one cares." He gulped down the last of his Coca-cola and started to toss the bottle in the air and catching it. "I'm just going to join the army when I'm out of school anyway. I got two years to think about it."

"You're so stupid. And quit throwing that around. That's glass, you know. What if it breaks? Then you'll be standing in a bunch of glass."

"You don't have to be smart to be in the army. You just have to know how to fight and how to survive. I've been through enough brawls to know the ups and downs of that kind of stuff. Besides that, at least I'm actually doing something that's worth my time anyway."

"Would they even let people like us join?"

"Why not? Aren't they letting… You know… Black people fight?"

"But they don't have a country that's against everyone else. People don't like Japan anymore."

"Tch, and Japan doesn't like us. I don't give a shit. I'm gonna go kill some Germans is what I'm gonna do."

"But… You know we're not in the war…"

"I'm shipping myself off to Britain then. Just watch me!"

x-x-x

Same month, same year; Stalingrad, Soviet Union.

Kazuma Kuwabara was in a real jam. Hell, when wasn't he? Work never paid him to get the rent paid and food on the table, let alone going out and enjoying himself every once in a while. even with his sister paying some of the bills, it wasn't enough. it never was enough. Still he had to work for his idol Josef Stalin, the _Vozhd_. He worked for almost nothing for the Vozhd. He cursed god, the one who doesn't exist because Stalin was always right. He killed his kitten to save up on extra spending because Stalin made it okay to do so.

He once thought Stalin was wrong. And that was with the Nazi-Soveit Pact. But he never said anything when that came and went. No. You can never say Stalin was wrong because he never was. In the Soviet Union, Stalin was always right. Unless you wanted to disappear that is. Besides, Kuwabara was delusional in thinking otherwise.

"Kazuma, you better get off your ass and get going to work. You better not be late to the factory either. The boss'll be pissed if you are," his sister Shizuru growled as she walked through the dining room. "Staring at the table won't make you get there faster and it won't get you changed into your uniform. Come on. Get going."

"Get off my back sis. I didn't get any sleep last night. I'm tired." He hurried into his bedroom and slipped on his raggedy work uniform. And he shoved his feet in his dirty shoes, he said over his shoulder, "See, look, sis. I'm going right now. I'll run to work if it means I;\'ll be early."

"You won't be early if you keep running your mouth like that. You're the one paying for the food this week, too. So remember that."

"Okay, okay. I'm leaving." He stepped out of the house, took the key from his pocket and locked the door twice, just to make sure he locked it. He groaned when he saw how grey it all was. He wouldn't have minded seeing all this darkness just disappear.

He remembered that in another year's time, he would finally be eighteen and he would finally be able to join the red army. That wouldn't be so bad. Getting shot up by Germans wouldn't be so bad. It can get any worse than sitting in a dark factory til god knows when as the boss looked down his nose at you. Watching. Waiting for you to crack. It'll be the gulags if you fail me, they think.

This is the world that they created. This is the culture of fear everyone must tolerate.

But still. Hell, Stalin was always right. Yeah, he was always right because he said he was.

End of chapter one.

Information: World War II started September 1939 with Hitler's invasion of Poland, thus breaking the Hitler-Stalin pact/Nazi Soviet pact which would have divided Poland between the two. In 1940, the US has yet to enter the war. Not much else to address.  
I am not a racist. So if you pick out that line…

Thanks for your time so far.


	2. Chapter 2

Hands of the Axis

Notes: At the moment there are three of four chapters in this thing. So… Just if you wanted to know. This is really hard to edit what with all my giant plot holes. I try not to name unimportant people. Just a thought…

x-x-x

London, England. August 1940.

Kurama walked into room two-oh-three. There was someone staying in that room. He could tell by the open closet and drawers and how the bed was left unmade. They didn't leave any sign stating that they didn't want to be disturbed. In fact, it didn't look like the people who were staying here were coming back any time soon. Shrugging, he walked over, and turned on the radio, not even paying attention to what it was set on. (After a few moments, he realized it was Jazz. He never actually listened to it before. His mother told him it was kind of evil.) He put the mop and broom down, and started to make the bed.

A few moments later, he heard some footsteps in the hall. He figured it was just Botan coming down to check on what he was doing _again_. (You would think she was starting to suspect he was a thief.) The footsteps stopped. Kurama looked up to see the father from a month ago standing there, a slight look of "What the hell are you listening to" on his face.

"Is this your room? Do you need something?" Kurama asked.

"No. I'm looking for my son," Shura's father replied.

"Here? This is a peculiar place for him to be."

"Well, he does happen to have a liking for this general area. I'm not sure if you've seen him much after that day. Though I'm sure he's been avoiding you in case I happen to step in again. I really ought to send that boy back to school, but knowing him, he might start walking away with things from there as long as it isn't nailed down. Though, I have heard they still allow switches in school…"

_This is kind of disturbing._ "Well, I'm sorry that I haven't seen him because I would tell you where he is if I did."

"He knows how to hide so that no one seems to know where he is… I'll wait for him to come back. He always does." He paused. "My name is Yomi. I suppose we'll be seeing each other quite often. And you are…?"

"My name is Shuichi Minamino."

"Your name… Is that… Japanese?"

"I am Japanese somewhere down the line but I am English. My mother named me that on a whim…" There was a tense silence. "Well, if I happen to see your son, I'll tell him that you were looking for him."

Yomi nodded and he left the room. Kurama heard Yomi wandering down the hall and then down the stairs. Several hours later, Kurama's shift was over and he came downstairs to tell Botan that he was leaving.

"Thank you for the help, Mr. Minamino," Botan said with the biggest grin. "There's something I want to ask you… If you don't mind that is. You see there's this party I'm going to have next month. My friend will be coming over and I wanted to introduce you."

Remember when he thought Yomi was disturbing? This actually topped that. "I'm not sure. We just met and I think I might be overstepping my boundaries if I did…" Meaning no.

"I would love for you to come. I think by then we'd have known each other well enough…" Meaning you don't have much of a choice, buddy.

"I'll see what I can do." He walked out and got in the car. He arrived at his house and walked straight to his mother's bedroom.

She smiled at him. "You're home."

"You sound like you didn't expect me to." He chuckled a bit. He put a hand on her forehead to check her temperature. Her temperature was normal. He started to walk out to cook dinner but he stopped in the doorway. "Are you feeling any better today, mother?"

"Oh yes. I really should cook for you today, Shuichi. You've been on your feet all day and you could use a few moment's rest…"

"No, no, no, no. You don't have to get up. You're still sick. You just need to get better. You don't have to worry about me. I'm not even tired. Just stay in bed, Mother."

"I really should get out of bed…" And they both knew that she was the woman who was make Rosie the Riveter look like a slacker when it came to work. "You take care of me so much that I'll be sad when you go off and get married, Shuichi. Then you'll be so busy with your wife, you'll start to forget about me."

She was joking, of course. But he still said, "You don't have to worry about that, Mother. I won't leave you alone. I won't forget you."

x-x-x

Dresden, Germany; July 15, 1940.

Mukuro was wandering through the city, occasionally looking over her shoulder, just a normal thing to do. It shouldn't look suspicious, even if she was just looking for one of the Nazi psychos to come and track her down. No one was after her yet. Her efforts paid off when she ran into the man she saw that month ago. He was holding a package to his chest, but the way he was holding it, she knew that it was an empty bundle of papers strategically held.

She approached him slowly, stood next to him. She knew he was starting to get anxious because he was starting to tap his toe. It was best not to get straight to the point. Not while there were so many ears around.

"So… Are you waiting for someone?" she finally asked.

He glanced at her, trying really hard not to glare at her. He didn't even want to answer her question. That would encourage her.

"Hey, I need someone to work for me. I think you might be of some help…"

"I have a job already."

"What is it?"

"There are other people you could ask. Why do you have to ask me?"

"If you're not going to answer that just means that you were lying."

"If you're not going to answer me that just shows that you're pretentious."

That actually doesn't hurt. "Well, it looks like I'm not going to get through to you the normal way… I know why you have your chest covered."

"It's a damn coffee stain. I don't see why people make it seem like it's a goddamn gaping hole in the earth." He moved the papers to reveal said coffee stain on his shirt. "Are you happy now, lady? Can't you people not stare at stuff like that?"

Okay, that stung slightly. "If you're so smart, then why don't you go home and change instead of standing on a corner all day?"

"I'm waiting for my sister. Go away."

"I could hire your sister too…"

"If you don't leave me alone in ten seconds, so help me God, I will take you in the alley and…" An old woman stopped in her tracks and stared at him. The man sighed irritably and grumbled something. "Just… just go away. I'll…"

"Or you'll what?" She was really trying to turn this into a challenge. Actually this guy's discomfort was kind of amusing. "I'm serious. This job will be perfect for you. I can just see it. You're kind of built for what I have in mind."

"…You're disgusting."

Just then a young woman rushed over, waving at the man, a smile of relief on her face. "I was looking all over for you, Hiei. I was so scared…" She noticed Mukuro. "Who's this? Did you leave to see your…"

"God no. This woman won't leave me alone."

"See, I know this job is made for the both of you," Mukuro added.

"A job…? Well…" The girl started to think about it.

Before the man, Hiei, could object to her considering it, Mukuro also said, "If you come by at sundown, I'll tell you everything you need to do. It's a night job, but I'll pay you well. My address is…"

"This is getting weirder and weirder. I'm cutting it off before it gets even worse," Hiei growled. "What kind of person hires someone to work at night and at their house?"

"It's not what you're thinking it is. It really isn't. Just come and sundown and then I'll tell you everything. If you don't like it, you can just walk out as soon as you decide you don't want to do it."

"I don't…" He sighed as his sister whispered in his ear. He cocked a brow and looked at her like she was crazy. He glanced at Mukuro and whispered something back to the girl. They went back and forth like this for a few moments. Finally, Hiei groaned. "Fine. It's a deal. But I'm holding you to what you just promised us."

She wrote down the address on the package he was covering himself with. Then she turned around and they went their separate ways. It was an hour before sunset when she started staring at the clock. She was more actively aware of the man passed out drunk on the couch. What she didn't remember was how he got to that point. She was about to walk over to his drunk ass and grumble obscenities when there was a knock on the door. (It wasn't a good idea anyway. The guy could wake up at any point and hear what she was saying to him.) She quickly turned to open the door.

"I'm sorry to bother you again, I know I should have called… I forgot my…"

She stopped the man. "I was about to call you as a matter of fact." No she wasn't. "I'll bring it to you right now…"

"Is it okay if I come in?"

"Well, Himmelstoss happens to be in right now. It's not that he doesn't like you or anything. I'm sure that you are friends."

"We are." Until now, probably.

"Well, he's asleep and I can't wake him up so… Does he come often?"

"About as often as you."

"Well, you know I can love you better than he can."

_He has a wife… Can't he just be satisfied with one…?_ "You know, I've been told that so many times. I just don't even know anymore."

He twitched his mustache, which was for the record cut in the same style as the fuhrer's, but his look of determination didn't fade. "You know, fraulein Engelhard, there's a rally today? You can come if you want."

"I hate crowds. You know that."

"Well, if you ever want to, feel free to. You will be amazed. There's nothing like the fuhrer… You know, I'll pay you if you…"

"No. I know what you're going to say. No. I'm sorry but… No. I just don't want to if you have a wife. And considering that we're not married…" That was just full of shit. She was surprised that he even believed it was just an issue of morals.

"You don't have to tell."

"But Himmelstoss is still right there."

He sighed and just kissed her. And she looked at the ceiling. Just as she always had. If she could poison her lips…

x-x-x

San Francisco, United States; September 1940.

"And so in 1917, that was why we, America, joined in the Great War and defeated the German Huns…" the teacher was interrupted.

"You know how many of the people died in the war? And you know what, my dad said that we don't need to lose people in that war because that was a European war. A European war and we're not even European? I think that's a waste too!" a student growled.

"But they died with honor."

"What do you know? All you say to us is how we should go into war and everyone in the States says that we're not joining the war."

"But these are the Germans we defeated, mind you. Yes, I will agree that we lost some but I think those men were the boldest there are to go out there for our country, and for the rest of the world, like that. I respect people who do things like that."

"We can't even eat anymore cause the war."

"It isn't the war's fault that we're starving."

"Sure then who's fault is it? Hitler's? The Communists? The Mexicans?"

"The Stock Market crashed. We'll get out of the Depression soon."

"So you say. They'll get you."

The teacher rolled his eyes, took his ruler, and he whacked the student's knuckles with it a few times. "No do you have any further comments? …Yes, that's what I thought. In any case, I will also agree with you that we would very likely not be in a European war. Hitler will be stopped and he will also stop those damned commies while he's at it."

Another student grumbled, "Jesus, who's side is he on?"

The teacher walked over and whacked his knuckles with the ruler again. "You all need to learn some respect for your elders. Just what is it all coming to? First you listen to Jazz and…" He went back to his lecture.

Yusuke sighed. _Just when he was actually getting to the good part, these guys just had to jump in. I swear, there's nothing keeping me awake in this class except the fact that Keiko'd nag and this guy'll hit me with his freakin' ruler._ Though he did hear that Catholic schools were much, much worse.

About ten minutes later the bell rang for lunch. Everyone crowded around the door. Yusuke walked up to the teacher. "Hey… You don't really think America won't go to war with Hitler, will they?"

The teacher tried to remember him. "Ah, Yusuke Urameshi. You're the one who wants to join the army, aren't you?"

Yusuke wasn't exactly sure how the teacher knew that but he nodded anyway.

"I think that's great. I really do. I'm a military man myself. But I'm afraid that we won't be going into war. Not as long as there's nothing really drawing us into the war. There are so many things that we could do if we just joined the war… If only we could just be in the League of Nations, then we would have enough of a reason to join…"

Then again, what was stopping anyone from bringing the United States to the war?

x-x-x

Stalingrad, Soviet Union; Same day, same month, same year.

Kuwabara fumbled with the keys to the apartment. The neighbors were at each other's throats again for who knows what. Hearing couples argue like that made him uneasy. It just did and he never really knew why that was. The point was that he wanted to open the damn door (You know, once his hands stopped shaking) just so he could lie down after two shifts, one right after the other, of work. He finally got the damn key in when the woman's voice was starting to crack.

He shook his head as he walked in. _Geez, when I get married, I hope I'll never have to deal with that. In fact, if I ever get a girlfriend I hope I never fight with her like that._

He paused just when he was about to go to bed. _Wow… Me getting married… I just thought about that. I really can't believe it…_ He dropped into bed without taking off his shoes or changing out of his work clothes. He'd have to get dressed again in the morning anyway. There's not much wrong with that. He just sat there, that thought still running in his thoughts.

An hour had passed and Kuwabara decided he wasn't going to getting any sleep that night. He got up, walked to the desk and listened to his sister's light snoring in the next room. She passed out on the couch again. He sighed, left the door open a crack so he could turn on the light without waking her up.

He took out a pencil and a piece of paper with a drawing on it. He flipped it over to the blank side. He hadn't drawn in a while, though it always helped him relax. He leaned back in the chair and imagined a woman. Just anyone. If he couldn't think of any he would just construct his own.

That was the only thing he could do. He would just create one…

Kuwabara always wanted to go to art school, but people told him the only thing that sells these days are drawings of Stalin. That would start to get monotonous. Anyone could draw Stalin. It didn't take much creativity. You can only do so much with that one image before it starts getting too repeated. After that, he decided that art school wasn't worth it anymore. (Though what he told his sister was that they also didn't have the money to send him to school. This was a fraction of the reason.) He never really felt that inspiration as much as he used to anyway.

Here he was, an eighteen year old sitting in what was almost complete darkness, drawing a woman he would never exist, and if she did, she probably wouldn't have given Kuwabara a second thought anyway. But there was this fantasy woman on paper. A woman with light hair and dark eyes. A small woman, delicate, not at all like the woman he worked with who could have passed as a man.

He was just a man, barely even a man. She was just an idea from a desperate man. What else was there for him to do at this point? She had been created, but what can a man do for a dream, an idea?

But this drawing was insignificant. As far as the state was concerned, this never happened. As far as anyone else was concerned, this never happened. This whole situation didn't matter because it wasn't contributing to anything whatsoever. For some reason, Kuwabara felt a faint horror about how small he really was at this moment. If he disappeared maybe two people would really notice…

This didn't matter. His wondering for the purpose of being born right now where the only thing you had to worry about was the Vozhd's approval. But that was also a question of searching for the reason to justify existence.

Why was he even wondering about this? The state doesn't care. The state never cared.

Kuwabara, as far as they were concerned, was only a blank.

A blank.

End of chapter 2.

I looked it up… Apparently Louis Armstrong's band played in England. Weird. In these days, people _hated_ Jazz. (The older generation) It was associated with drugs and prostitution because that was the environment it was usually played at… Along with the racial aspect, because everyone was that bad back then… So you can kind of compare it to rap these days. Kind of.  
Jews were required to wear the Star of David on all of their clothes. This was started in 1939 after the invasion of Poland. Apparently different districts had different things to make the Jews stand out such as an arm band. In the case of the star, it was usually a gold star with the word "Jude" (Jew in German) written on it. There were heavy consequences for not having the star. …I kind of wish Hiei were a Nazi. He's already a commie Nazi in…  
They seriously blamed the Mexicans for the Great Depression. I'm sure others were blamed but I know that they were in particular. Also, they blamed poor Hoover (hence, Hoovervilles). It wasn't their fault. We were douches and paid for everything in credit because it was the in thing... And we were dicks to other countries. We just wanted our money.  
The League of Nations was created after World War I with President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, which was the basis for the treaty. Because the US took a policy of being separated, they never joined in the League and they were technically at war with Germany until 1922, though no conflict occurred. It was an organization that served to make peace, hence the outlawing of peace. (Obviously this failed.) Compare it to the United Nations.  
Catholic schools are pretty bad… They pulled the heck out of my uncles' ears, I'm not kidding. You don't mess around in those schools.  
So basically Kuwabara was going down the Hitler path? It would bad if he becomes a corporal too… And mustard gassed. (I'm sorry that scene was pretty pointless. Actually Yusuke's was too… I wrote it weird.)

Again, thanks for your time. There's about two or three chapters that I wrote after this.


	3. Chapter 3

Hnads of the Axis

Notes: …Yeah… One more that I have written down, guys. And that's all I have. So… Yeah. All five of you who are reading this. (I don't really know how many people are reading this.)

I'm actually adlibbing a lot of Yusuke's scenes. I wrote it so that he ends up in England for some reason and I highly doubt a teacher he just met would take him there. Mukuro was more psycho than this in the original. Kuwabara was also schizo… And I am seriously pissed that I used to strongly believe that Gypsies were from Spain. They're a people that originated in India! Arg! (They are also the true Aryans, one source says. I'm not gonna debate that.)

x-x-x

London, England; September 7, 1940.

"So do you think you can come to the party tonight?" Botan asked. "I really think you would love my friend. He's such a nice man…"

Actually Kurama forgot about it. It wasn't that his memory was that bad, it was just that he didn't want to remember that he was supposed to be going to the party. And he didn't exactly have an alibi. (Well, he did but somehow lying to Botan didn't seem right to him.) Seeing how he left himself no options, he answered, "I will."

"Thank you so much. I'm glad to hear it. It will be at Six o'clock tonight. I'll give you the address when you're leaving. You don't have to worry about what you're going to wear, my friend won't care."

"I'll keep that in mind. May I go to work now?"

"I'm so sorry." And she let him go off on his own way.

Something was really telling him that he shouldn't go. Other than the fact that this was his boss that he was going to party with and other than the fact that he hasn't known this woman long enough to even really consider doing such a thing as a friend. There was just something else. He walked into the boy (_Wasn't his name Shura?)_ and he stopped him.

"Hey. Your father's been…" Shura stopped him.

"I know he is. Shush…" And with that Shura ran out. Kurama stopped and checked his pockets. Nothing was missing. Kurama turned around and walked into the first room. Immediately after, he heard someone walk in. He turned around and saw Yomi.

"Oh… Your son just ran out there somewhere," Kurama said.

"I'm sure he did. That little…" Yomi sighed. "Next time you see him, make sure you keep him where he is. I don't want that boy to keep causing trouble in my name." He walked out.

Kurama didn't see why the guy didn't just hire someone to track him down. He was starting to get tired of constantly watching out for this kid. He sighed. It wasn't his business. He shouldn't try to make it his business. He'd only make it worse, even if he knew something wrong was happening.

He came home to his mother that evening. She was half asleep when he walked into her bedroom. When she turned her face to him, she looked pale.

"Oh Shuichi, you're home. I know you're tired but could you get my medicine from the counter?" she asked. Kurama nodded and took the bottle off the counter in the kitchen. He twisted the top and took out one pill, stuffed it in his pocket and then took a glass of water back with him. "When to I go back to see Dr. Parker? I can't remember."

"Next week."

"I hope…" She paused and said nothing more.

"You'll get better. It's… It's just like a cold. It gets worse and worse and in the end it finally fixes itself and you'll be better soon. Don't worry about it. Just think about… about getting better. It'll get better soon."

It was silent. "What day is it?"

"September the seventh." He looked at the clock. "I have to leave in a couple of hours. I have to go to a party. But I'll be back soon after, don't worry."

"No, stay as long as you like, please… I don't want to keep you from having a good time. If I sleep, I'll be good enough to do some things for my self. Really, I think you should let yourself have some fun every once in a while."

He sighed. "I'll be back soon."

x-x-x

Dresden, Germany; July 15, 1940.

Himmelstoss was still drunk off his ass. Deciding that the best solution was to wake him up, Mukuro walked into the kitchen, searched for a bucket to pour over his head when there was a knock on the door. Here's a catch twenty-two. Since Himmelstoss was sitting on the couch, she decided she'll let his lazy ass stay there as long as it was convenient. She opened the door and there was the brother (looking really annoyed) and the sister (looking really stressed).

"We're here. Now what?" Hiei asked.

"Come back with me. I'll show you the way… Just be quiet," Mukuro said, letting the two come in.

"Jesus, is there someone in…?"

"Yes, but he's asleep."

"Your husband's going to find out."

"He's not my husband. Come up…" She picked up a cardboard box and followed the two down the hall.

"Why do you need the box?"

"An alibi."

He sighed. "Not this again." Just when they were a few steps to the top, a voice called out, "Fraulein!"

Mukuro froze, gestured for the two to hurry up as quietly as possible, using her own footsteps to mask theirs. She stopped and yelled over her shoulder, "Yes, Herr Himmelstoss?"

"Where are you?"

"Moving something to the attic. I'll be right down."

"Let me help you."

"No, I've got it." She hurried down the stairs. "It wasn't anything heavy, you see. I just have old things that need to be put away for later."

"I could always carry it up for you… As long as I'm here, you don't have to work hard. (_Yes I do._) So if you ever need to have something brought up there, you could just call me and I'll come in and do it for you. If you marry me, then you won't have to worry about that. In fact, you'll never have to work another day of your life." (_Again, yes I will._) He paused. "What time is it?"

"Eight o'clock, last time I checked."

"Ei- The rally was…"

"I tried to wake you up. I heard it was going to be tonight but…"

"You're so sweet…" And he hugged her. The fact that she didn't return the favor was something he took as innocent and charming. "It's not your fault. It's mine. I do need to get going… Where did I put my keys?"

"They're on the table."

"Thank you." He kissed her on the cheek and walked out. Mukuro groaned once he was out the door. She turned around, went back up the steps and was face to face with Hiei, who had a gun in his hand. They both stared at each other for a moment.

"Are you going to put that away?" She asked. Once he did, she sighed. "Really. So you mean to tell me that you really have nothing to fear and you have a gun?"

"What's your deal, lady? You bring home all these men and…" Hiei was interrupted.

"I'm not bringing them home. They come here for me. There's a difference. They all knew my father and my father promised them all that they would marry me. My father was a pretty rich guy and I'm assuming that's the prize right there. Along with having a wife. But that's my personal problems and they have little, if anything, to do with you. Tell me your names."

"Um… I'm Yukina and this is my brother Hiei… Volkmann," the woman said. Apparently she was starting to get irritated with how nothing was moving on.

"Well, that's a start. Mukuro Engelhard. I can tell that you need some help right now, seeing how things are the way they are. So, here's what I'll do. You guys will stay in here all day. Make as little sound as possible. I could try and hide whatever it is that happens up here by playing the radio. Until these men leave, you can't leave the room for anything. After that you can come down, do whatever. I'll feed you guys and whatever you need, I can get it for you."

"This is a deathtrap. We can't take this," Hiei said.

"No. I think…" Yukina paused.

"I'll find a way to stop them if they so much as suspect that there's something going on up here. I'll do what it takes. I'm not lying," Mukuro replied. "If I fail then please- you can take that gun and shoot me, Herr Volkmann."

"You are insane." Hiei glanced at Yukina and sighed, seeing he was on the losing side of the battle. "Fine. I'm not doing it because I trust you. I don't but you're the best we got. So I'll take your offer."

"Don't worry. Don't. I can make this work."

He really wanted to tell her that she was full of shit.

x-x-x

San Francisco, United States; September 7, 1940.

"So you got into a fight _again?_" Keiko asked, trying hard not to roll her eyes at Yusuke. "How many times are you going to do this before you're satisfied? What does your mom say when she hears about this?"

"She doesn't give a shit after she smacks me a few times and neither do I. And neither should you," Yusuke growled.

"Don't talk like that."

"What, I can say what I want. It's not like you're a real lady anyway."

"Excuse me?"

"Keiko, you know the only reason you're hanging around me is because you're the annoying neighbor girl that likes to nag me because I'm the only one close by who won't run away. You know what? You're not my mom so don't bother. I don't wanna know what it's like to have a mom who's out working and whatever the hell else she does all the time. If you don't like it so damn much then why don't you just go away then? You ever think about that?" Keiko was about to protest but he went on. "I've heard what your stupid friends say about me, too. Saying that I'm a bad influence and if you wanted me to be your husband, you must be desperate or that you don't know how to look for a guy. Why don't you listen to them then? Just leave me the hell alone then."

"Yusuke… I'm just doing it because you're my friend and I'm the only one you've got…" She swiped tears from her eyes, and when she realized that there were tears in her eyes, she felt more roll out of her eyes. "Y-you're my friend and I don't wanna see you getting hurt too much or even getting killed because you don't know when to stop fighting. You really think they'd let you join the army if you keep doing what you're doing? If we ever need the army and if they ever let people like us join?"

Before he could retort she ran away. He sighed, shook his head, feeling a squeezing in his chest. _I should go after her…_ Somehow going after her right now didn't seem right. He stopped, thought about it, decided to let it sit for a while. Maybe she would get over it. If she didn't then it wasn't his fault, now was it? She was the one who kept hanging around him even though she knew she shouldn't.

The next day, he passed her in the hall at school. She turned the other way, twisting her head so that all signs of him were out of her sight altogether. There was that damn squeezing in his heart again. He held in the urge to call her out.

After three days, he finally walked into Keiko's family's restaurant, and she was sitting in her usual spot near the door, book cracked open. She looked up with her generic smile, ready to greet him. When she recognized him, her smile cracked and she greeted him in a monotone. He pulled up a chair across from her. She buried her face in the book again.

"What are you reading?" Yusuke asked. She didn't budge. "…Do you have a menu?"

"There's one on another table," she answered.

He leaned over and took a menu. "Well…. Looks like I'm getting my usual. What're you getting?"

"I already ate. Go order somewhere else. I'm kind of busy. You're breaking my concentration."

"It can't be that hard… No, wait it has to be if even you're confused."

"Real funny. Now please… Go away."

"What do you want me to tell you, Keiko?"

She slammed the book closed. "What do I want you to tell me? It's not like you can take away what you said just like than and then we won't have to worry about it anymore. Why are you so stupid? Why'd you come back to make things right anyway? Did you get lonely or did you just want to continue being rude to me?"

"You know, you… You remember that time we were kids? You got really mad at me for… What was that again?"

"You got so sick and you still went out in the cold. I told you not to do it. You got even more sick and then I had to take you home."

"You remember what I said to you when you brought me home?"

"That… You asked me to marry you. Who cares? You mean to tell me you want to marry me right now? Right now you're the last boy I'd ever want to marry. I'd marry a guy who's nice to me all the time instead of treating me like I'm some kind of bug. I don't know what you're trying to say." She stood up. "So are you gonna order anything?"

He stared out the window. "You know, I dunno."

-.-.-.-.-.-

NOTES: HEY, guys, remember how at the beginning I said I would add what I have left? Not gonna happen. I have too much to catch up on and if I continue this my updates will be even slower because of my schoolwork. I'm sorry if you're disappointed. If you're determined to see this end, please send me a message if you wanna adopt this. I don't mind if you do and I would be happy to see where you take it.

If no one does… Yeah, that's also good. I'm also sorry that this is kind of crappy quality, the lack of Kuwabara's story, and the obvious historical inaccuracies. I had no inspiration.


End file.
